Chapter 128: Chapter 99: Hardship and Sacrifice
At that same moment,
Several people in the rear understood the plan. They quickly took out smoke grenades, pulled the pins, and hurled them forward.
Amidst the CLANG CLANG CLANG of the grenades hitting the ground, thick smoke erupted, billowing out to obscure the final stretch of the factory ramp and blind Qiu Shan and his crew.
Seizing the opportunity, a squad leader gritted his teeth and led several team members up the ramp, charging toward the main entrance, which was chained shut.
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP!
The sound of their footsteps was a continuous drumbeat. As trained combatants, they were agile. Once they broke through the iron door, they could rush into the factory to draw enemy fire and provide cover for the others behind them.
But just then...
BZZZT!!
A sudden high-heat energy signature appeared on the convoy’s thermal imaging scanner, instantly turning a patch of the screen bright red.
The image showed it was coming from the main entrance—the only apparent way into the factory.
"Don’t!!"
Someone in the convoy shouted, trying to stop them.
The squad leader at the head of the charge froze. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked down.
The heavy iron door was right in front of him. All he had to do was break the chains, and he could push it open and rush inside.
But...
BOOM!!!
A blast of fire erupted. He and his riot shield were thrown several meters through the air, tumbling across the smoke-shrouded ground. His fate was unknown.
The team members behind him were suddenly exposed. Some were knocked backward by the shockwave, while others were left standing stunned, their ears ringing and their nerves shot.
DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!!
The machine gun inside the factory opened fire again, its rounds thudding against body armor. Fortunately, someone reacted quickly, rushing forward with a riot shield to drag the men to safety.
"Where are the Third and Fifth Squads?"
Yu Yong roared in anger at the sight. Lu Chao, Yang Wangtao, and the others gritted their teeth and raised their guns, wanting to lay down suppressing fire on the shooting port at the main entrance.
At the same time, in the open areas to the left and right of the factory, members of the Fifth Squad, wearing riot helmets and holding riot shields, used the shadows to try and approach the building, hoping to climb the walls and get through the windows.
But they never expected it.
DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!!
The sound of a submachine gun erupted as a string of bullets tore through the darkness. The gun barrel poked out from a window, spraying fire at the ground below and forcing the patrol officers at the side of the factory to halt.
"Come on!"
"Go on and shoot! Let’s see if you kill me first, or if you kill these hostages!"
The taunt, mixed with the crying of hostages, rang out again from the shooting port in the front wall, echoing brazenly in everyone’s ears.
Yang Wangtao and the others tightened their grip on their weapons. They gritted their teeth, their faces grim, but they knew they were powerless.
No one dared to take that risk.
Even when they did fire, they only dared to shoot at the wall near the edge of the shooting port, just to create a distraction.
Watching this scene from afar by the convoy, Chen Xiao’s face was a mask of fury. He felt utterly stifled.
BAM.
He slammed his fist on a nearby patrol car. He ignored the sharp, jolting pain that shot through his knuckles, driven by an overwhelming urge to vent his frustration.
’Are we just going to let this drag on?’
’And watch Ruan Hui take all the credit, just to have the Second Squad mock us afterward?’
’Did our men sacrifice themselves just to pave the way for those bastards?’
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Chen Xiao clenched his jaw so hard it ached. He wanted to charge furiously toward the factory and join Lu Chao and the others.
At that critical moment,
"O-officer."
The old security guard he was protecting suddenly opened his mouth, his face pale and his voice hesitant.
"What is it?"
Chen Xiao turned his head to look, and the impatient expression on his face, veins throbbing on his forehead, made the old man shrink back.
The old security guard swallowed, still hesitating.
But in the end, as he looked into Chen Xiao’s bloodshot eyes, filled with rage and frustration, and saw the reflection of the patrol officers pressing forward despite their pain and injuries, he made up his mind.
He slowly raised a hand and said with a trembling voice, "I... I remember now."
"This... this factory... I think there’s another way to get in quietly."
